


Glass Half Full

by cacao_society



Category: Bleach
Genre: Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Post-Thousand Year Blood War Arc, What-If, slight AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-11-01 13:29:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17868134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cacao_society/pseuds/cacao_society
Summary: Sentarō Kotsubaki is promoted to Lieutenant of the Eighth Division the same day that Kiyone receives her promotion. By now, he’s used to her trying to steal his thunder.





	Glass Half Full

**Author's Note:**

> Since Tite Kubo showed Kiyone as the Lieutenant of the 4th,at the end of the manga, but didn't show what ended up happening to Sentarō, I decided to fill some holes in canon.

 

Sentarō stares blankly at the letter in front of him, Lieutenant Ise’s words washing over him like white noise. A small part of his brain is screaming at him to pay attention, but it’s hard to hear over the words that keep echoing in his head.

 

Promoted.

 

Lieutenant.

 

_Eighth Division._

 

At the thought of leaving the Thirteenth Division, Sentarō snaps from his reverie with a shake of his head. He chances a glance at the other man in the room, thankful that his attentions were currently focused on his Lieutenant.  Save for his booming _“Congratulations! I hope you will consider these offers very carefully.”_ when he handed Sentarō and Kiyone their letters, Captain-Commander Kyoraku, had remained silent throughout their meeting, letting Nanao discuss the logistics of their offers. 

 

Technically, his promotion was a request, a decision to be taken at his discretion, but the way Ise-san spoke to Rukia said otherwise.

 

_“—tenants Hisagi and Kuna will also be available to help you, Lieutenant Kuchiki. Prior to the the War against the Quincies, the Soul Society could run a certain way. However, due to lack of resources and manpower, we need to use what we currently have efficiently. I understand that these moves may not—”_

 

Sentarō tries to swallow around the lump in his throat. It’s not that he’s not flattered. He’s beyond honored at the opportunity to serve the Soul Society in an advanced capacity and to have his talents recognized. He’s just never thought about leaving the Thirteenth.

 

He’s never _wanted_ to leave the Thirteenth.

 

The lump in his throat seems to burn, and his eyes start to prickle with the promise of tears. Sentarō can feel his hands shaking, but he will _not_ cry. He’s not about to make a fool of himself in front of the Captain-Commander, no matter how many times the man has seen him inebriated before.

 

Sentarō will especially not cry and make a fool of himself in front of _Kiyone._

 

The paper crinkles in his grip as he steels himself with determination, his trembling lips curling into an unwavering scowl.

 

Now, Sentarō’s made himself curious and he has no other choice, but to look in Kiyone’s direction and gauge her reaction to her own promotion. He’s met with a familiar steadfast expression, lips pursed in a grim, straight line, clenched fists resting on her thighs. It’s the same look she got when she decided to lead the first kidō class in the morning and when she went to the store and insisted that Captain Ukitake preferred umeboshi onigiri over anko onigiri.

 

“Kiyone-chan, Sentarō-kun.” This time the Captain-Commander is the one who speaks and Sentarō has no time to parse Kiyone’s unreadable expression.

 

“Yes, Captain-Commander!” Sentarō and Kiyone both respond at the same time, their voices reverberating throughout the room.

 

Sentarō feels his cheeks heating up despite Captain-Commander Kyoraku’s placid smile. Out of the corner of his eye, Sentarō notices Nanao-san’s shoulder’s drop in a nearly imperceptible sigh at the pair’s response. It’s difficult for Sentarō not to be self-conscious of his synchronization with Kiyone, it wasn’t a good look for two candidates under consideration for positions in separate divisions.

 

“As the lovely Nanao-chan was saying, the move to promote both of you to Lieutenants is highly unusual, especially with the Thirteenth Division currently without a Captain itself,” Kyoraku starts, face perfectly impassive, despite speaking, at least indirectly, about the passing of his best friend. Sentarō isn’t as disciplined, feeling the edges of his own attentive expression slip into a frown. “However, given the current circumstances, the First Division has decided to step in and assign you to these posts, despite tradition where a Captain chooses their own Lieutenant.”

 

Captain-Commander Kyoraku pauses and clears his throat before continuing. “Despite both the Fourth and Eighth divisions having Third Seats more than qualified to take the job of Lieutenants of their respective divisions, the both of you have strengths that we deemed highly beneficial to both divisions in addition to your years of leadership experience.”

 

 “Kiyone Kotetsu,” Captain-Commander Kyoraku says, turning his focus to Kiyone. Sentarō turns too, internally scoffing at the blush on Kiyone’s face. “Your healing kidō is currently one of the best in the Soul Society.” That Sentarō can attest to. He’s always thought Kiyone’s healing abilities were the worst kept secret in the Soul Society; Unohana would have never let Captain Ukitake leave her care if he wasn’t being overseen by one of the best. “Yet, it is your zanjutsu skills we believe make you a perfect candidate for this division. The War exposed many weaknesses within the Gotei 13, and an unbalanced Fourth Division, unfit for combat, was one of them.”

 

A shadow darkens Captain-Commander Kyoraku’s gaze, but it’s gone before he meets Sentarō’s eyes. “Sentarō Kotsubaki.” Sentarō can feel the blood rushing to his cheeks under the intensity of the Captain-Commander’s gaze, all too aware that he’s being offered to form part of the leadership of Kyoraku’s former division. “Your zanjutsu skills are on par with a Lieutenants and have been for decades.” A part of Sentarō wants to protest, all the times Lieutenant Kaien beat him during training coming to mind. Then again, Lieutenant Kaien was a Shiba, who like Sentarō and Kiyone, basically ran the division singlehandedly when their Captain fell ill. “The Eighth Division has long prided itself on its kido prowess and it is your kidō skills that helped us pick you as a candidate for the Lieutenant of the Eighth.”

 

Sentarō would have been lying if Captain-Commander Kyoraku’s appraisal didn’t take him by surprise. Then, again, Sentarō always helped Kiyone healing her Captain and creating barriers around Ugendo to keep the noise from the rest of the Soul Society from bothering their Captain. He must’ve not been paying attention to how much he had improved. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise him. Captain Ukitake deserved nothing less than the best.

 

Captain-Commander Kyoraku clapped his hands together. “Well,” He exclaims brightly, effectively dispelling the serious atmosphere that had fallen over the room. “You don’t have to answer me right now. I’ll need your responses by the end of the week, at the latest. Preparations for the Captains’ induction ceremony should be done by then.”

 

Except Sentarō didn’t need a week to respond to Captain-Commander Kyoraku’s proposition, the answer was simple.

 

He thinks of the letter left on his desk, name spelled out in bright blue ink. He remembers the last lines, hard to read through his tears, Kiyone’s loud sobs in the other side of the room making it hard to concentrate.

 

_Sentarō, thank you for all your years of service. I hope you treat your next Captain as well as you treated me._

 

It’s Nanao who finally breaks the silence. “Any questions?”

 

Sentarō’s chest fills with emotion, threatening to burst. “Captain-Commander Kyoraku, I do not need a week to respond to your request.” The words tumble from his lips, louder than he had planned. He doesn’t see Kyoraku, Nanao, and Rukia’s identical expressions of surprise, with his head bowed, nearly touching the floor. Oddly enough, his words seem to echo through the room. “I humbly accept your offer to become the Lieutenant of the—”

 

_“—Eighth—”_

_“—Fourth—”_

_“—division!”_

 

Of course, Kiyone decides to steal his thunder.

 

Sentarō turns to her, nostrils flaring. “Are you really copying me, even now, Kiyone?”

 

Her face is twisted into a stubborn grimace, “That was low, Sentarō! You’re the one copying _me_ ,” Kiyone insists.

 

Her blatant lie makes Sentarō angrier. “I started talking first, _Boog—_ ”

 

Too late Sentarō notices his faux pas, recognition smoothing Kiyone’s expression in the same instant.

 

Sentarō drops back into _dogeza_. “Please excuse my inappropriate behavior, Captain-Commander Kyoraku, Lieutenant Ise.” He can still hear Kiyone repeating his words, but now’s not the time to focus on her annoying copying habit. Distantly, he thinks he hears Rukia let out a small chuckle. “It is unbecoming—”

 

“ _Yare yare_ ,” Captain-Commander Kyoraku interrupts them, smiling when they finally raise their heads to meet his gaze. “I accept your apologies. Make sure to move out of the Thirteenth by the week’s end.”

 

_“Yes, sir!”_

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first foray into writing fic for the Bleach fandom! Let me know what you think! c:
> 
> (also Shunsui might be a bit ooc, but he is the new soutaicho now so)


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